CAF comments on Government's announcement on Giving

Commenting on the Government’s announcement on
giving Hannah Terrey, Head of Policy at the Charities Aid
Foundation, said:

“It is great news that the Government is
investing more money in social action and working to make greater
giving a reality.

“Ministers are to be commended for encouraging
more people to give time and money to good causes –
and to make it the norm for people to leave money to charity
in their wills.

“Charities are the backbone of Britain and the
Government should now strain every sinew to cut red tape
for charities, making it as simple as possible for people to give
to the causes they really care about.”

She added: “Initiatives, such as Gift Aid, can
do a huge amount to help the charitable sector, so it is critical
that the Government moves quickly to sweep away antiquated rules
which leave charities wallowing in unnecessary paperwork and bring
Gift Aid into the 21st Century – so that it is fit for the modern
era.

“People are increasingly giving online and using mobile phones,
and don’t want the hassle of signing paper forms every time they
give a few pounds to charity. Ministers need to introduce a simple
one-off system to enable people to sign up to Gift Aid. This
would cut red tape and allow people to make the most of new
technology.”